Latest Blog Posts

I pressed “songs” on the iPod within my iPhone, and then pressed “shuffle”. The first song that came up was “The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva from an album called The Best of the Girl Groups Vol. 2. What a precious tune. It was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and first topped the charts with Little Eva’s version in 1962. The song appeared on the American top 5 two more times, each from a different decade. Grand Funk Railroad released their chart-topping “Loco-Motion” in 1974. In 1988, it was Kylie Minogue who took her version of the song into the top 5.

Here are the three versions in chronological order. I’ve included the videos to get a real taste of the eras.

It’s no doubt that my favorite album from 2009 was M. Ward’s sensitive and unassuming Hold Time. Every time I listen to it, I’m romantically transported to a perfect sunset circa 1960 and Ward seems to be a fan of that era as well. I’ve read various articles about his fascination with old-timey analog recording tools and instruments. Listening to his music always provides a soulful escape from what can be an all-too-modern collage of noise and images out in the world.

As is often the case, I have one of M. Ward’s songs in my head. The song is a cover of Buddy Holly’s 1958 single, “Rave On”. The song was actually first recorded by Sonny West, but made popular by Holly. I’m not a Buddy Holly expert, but it’s always interesting to connect the dots with some internet research. So I’ve included Holly’s “Rave On” below, followed by a young Waylon Jennings riffing on the tune with mariachi horns, a rare John Lennon cover of the same song and, finally, M. Ward’s 2009 version.

Tuesday, January 19th marks the birthday of the late, great Janis Joplin. Born in 1943, Joplin rose to rock stardom in the mid-‘60s with her raspy, soulful vocals and colorful demeanor as the front woman of Big Brother and the Holding Company. Unfortunately, her life and career were short-lived due to continuous run-ins with various substances, ultimately passing away from an overdose on October 4th, 1970. Regardless, Joplin’s spirit, presence, and voice will be immortalized in her music. Happy 67th, Janis!

Twenty-nine years ago today, the world lost one of its greatest influences when Lennon was shot four times in the back at the entrance of his apartment building in New York City. His death came one month after the release of his last album Double Fantasy. The album would go on to win a Grammy Award in 1981 for Album of the Year. A toast to John Lennon, his art, messages, ideas and achievements.

Cute. Comical. Slapstick funny. These are just some of the tricks Hollywood abuses and exploits to mask the sexual harassment of women and appeal to the male gaze. And since men control the beat, tenor and tune of the industry, women’s roles are as thin now as they were then. This is the beauty of checking out old flicks—they help us unmask the new tricks of the trade.

Check out this scene from Which Way is Up, a flick seen by many modern bloggers as kids on cable way back in the day, since the film debuted in 1977. It was on regular rotation on the movie channels in the early ‘80s, and probably never registered as sexual harassment—a term that genuinely came into the American lexicon via the Senate’s confirmation hearing of Uncle Tom. Anita Hill stuck her neck out, but the nation’s leaders failed to go the distance, which is unsurprising given the tacit harassment of women in pop culture. The sitting president could not even bring himself to correctly pronounce the word harassment, as most Americans do, instead rebuffing something more akin to “harris-mint”.